Wiggle Pro Cyclist Takes On London's Commuter Streets

9 June 2017

On Sunday 11th June, the Women's Cycle Tour is coming to our home city of London with a route racing round some of the most famous landmarks. Starting on Regents Street, the closed roads route will take in Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Westminster Whitehall and London’s West End. The stage promises to be both a great spectacle and a great opportunity for Professional Women cyclists to showcase their sport. It will be a busy weekend for the Brandnation Sport PR Team and their client wiggle.com, the world's biggest tri sports and cyclist online retailer, and main sponsor of the competing Wiggle High5 professional women's cycling team.

However, there still remains a shortfall in the number of women cycling – especially in London, so Brandnation’s Sport PR Team invited two time World Junior Road Race Champion, Lucy Garner (one of the Wiggle High5 team) down to take a look at what it’s really like to ride on London’s streets.

Lucy rode on her 'Boris Bike' (a step down from her usual £5,000 liveried racing bike?) with a select group of journalists on a route beginning in London's Hyde Park and ending near Brandnation’s offices in London Bridge. The route took in a mixture of some of London's best cycle routes, like the segregated East-West Cycle Superhighway down London’s Embankment, and also some areas known to be a challenge like Bank junction.

Professional women cyclists like Lucy don’t always have the luxury of closed roads, so have to contend with traffic like the rest of us on a daily basis. While there is still some work to be done on improving infrastructure, from the ride it was clear the city has come on leaps and bounds for cyclists. There are now many fantastic dedicated cycle lanes and routes around London, which take you away from traffic. Like Lucy, we’d love to see more women getting on bikes and enjoying the benefits of city riding.

Lucy said, “I’m surprised how tiring it is riding around London. You have to be constantly aware all the time. However, I also had to drive and grab the tube during my visit to London and I have to say, cycling is definitely the best option. I just don’t understand why you would drive!”

During her day in London Lucy also popped in to be interviewed on Radio 2’s drive time show, where she talked about women’s cycling in general, stating that, “There really hasn’t been a better time for young girls to get into the sport than now!”

Lucy’s sponsor, Wiggle.com, is not only committed to supporting professional female cycling, but also encouraging women of all levels to get on two wheels and enjoy the benefits of life on two wheels.